


Stuck On the Fence

by EllaAniMine



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: A little angst, Developing Friendships, Feelings, Girl next door, High School, Iwaizumi supporting role, Male-Female Friendship, Oikawa Tooru-centric, Oikawa takes some time to study abroad, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Post-Graduation, Sort of AU, Teen Angst, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, iwazumi is a best friend, iwazumi puts up with a lot, kind of confused feelings, mostly comedic, oikawa struggles, oikawa/OC friendship, study abroad, teenage mistakes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-11 08:32:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8972170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllaAniMine/pseuds/EllaAniMine
Summary: "No, Iwaizumi you don't understand!" Oikawa whined. "She KNOWS I can see her, she's doing it on purpose, and the way she is eating that Popsicle is absolutely obscene!!"OrOikawa Tooru mistakenly believes that he can handle time abroad. Unfortunately for him, there is no volleyball to use as a curtain to hide behind. Not this round. Whether he intended to or not (and he did not intend to) he learns a lot about himself, life, friendship, mistakes, and the whirlwind girl that lives next door to his host family.





	1. Middle of Nowhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa thought time abroad would be fun.  
> Even if he was smack dab in the middle of nowheresville...  
> Still, there was a lot to take in, and plenty of attention, but this kind of attention is... different.

When a certain Oikawa Tooru had been given the opportunity to spend time abroad before locking into a college, he hadn't payed much attention to where he was going to be sent. At the time, he hadn't cared. As far as he was concerned, time abroad was good for only a few things, comparing to the international talent, examining the international beauty, and enjoying a bit of relaxation. It was supposed to be a dream.

  
It ended up being a less than ideal situation. Sure his host family was nice enough, and they had a son in the same year as Oikawa for him to follow around school, and hang out with until he made friends. Making friends was easy, because the majority of kids had never seen a kid from out of state, much less from a different country and certainly not from across the ocean. The agency that everything had been arranged through had dropped him in the middle of "butt-fucking-nowhere", and realistically there wasn't much to do outside of go to school and go home.  
Despite the fact that the school had been built in the sixties, the water fountains had chew in them, and Oikawa didn't have a clue what people were talking about 100% of the time, he had remained hopeful.  
HAD been hopeful.  
"I don't understand." Oikawa looked blankly at his host.  
"We don't have a boys volleyball team." He replied almost sheepishly, garbage was tossed into the top of the locker and his host-brother, Cael, looked almost dejected. "It's nothing against you, I mean the school barely has a girls team, but most guys are playing basketball or wrestling this time of year."  
"What should I do?" Cael shrugged at the question, not quite understanding why it was so important.  
"What do you do when it's not volleyball season?"  
"It is always volleyball season." Oikawa stepped closer, a serious look on his face. "It's very important."  
"I think there might be a rec league at the YMCA or something, maybe you could look into that?" The answer didn't satisfy him, but the bell rang loudly overhead signaling that it was time for their next class. "Sorry man, gotta go."  
"I'll see you later." Oikawa made a show of smiling and waving, and as soon as his host left a girl was taking his place and smiling at Oikawa and encouraging him to walk with her.  
If only one of his plans was foiled, he at least had two to fall back on. The girls WERE very pretty and very different from the stock back home. It was funny to watch them try and wrap their glossed lips around his name the first few times, but more than anything they laughed and smiled when he made a show of not understanding their American customs. He learned relatively easily that anything he said was fascinating and most of the single population, and even a few taken ones, were clamoring for the attention of the cute Japanese boy.  
He might have been content to shower in their attention and feel just as desirable and popular as he did back home. Some people were genuinely interested in learning more about what life was like for Oikawa, and that was refreshing, but what troubled him most was the people who barely paid him any mind.  
People who didn't get caught up in the excitement of his smiles, or gather round his desk in the last few minutes of class to bombard him with questions. The type of people who sat, and watched, and smiled when he caught them looking, and unsettled him with the look that made him think they knew something secret about him.  
People like Mia.  
Oikawa's neighbor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank You for reading!!  
> It's short, but only an exposition.  
> I hope you come to enjoy my story and stick around to read more about this pretty setter's wild ride.  
> More to come!


	2. Like a Little Lost Setter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you want something, you have to go get it!  
> But... Usually, Oikawa has more suave charm than this...  
> Damn her for being so calm and collected in his presence!  
> She's up to something... but what?

He had to ride the bus home.

The school bus: The yellow box on wheels with old pleather seats that smelled like stale crackers and juice boxes, and a driver that managed to hit every single divot in the road.

He was able to be driven to school in the morning by Cael, but after school there was wrestling practice until five and nowhere for Oikawa to wait that long. So he rode the bus, and hated it, and spent the 45 minute ride watching the back of her head to see what she was up to. If he could read her thoughts he would, just to know what she knew and figure out how to win her over so he wouldn't have to keep an eye on her.

It would have been one thing if she had just not been interested in him. Her eyes told a different story when he saw them. Mia was more than interested in Oikawa, she was positively circling him to learn everything she could. She was playing with him. Oikawa Tooru's need for a very specific kind of attention was what she was able to lord over his head and deny him. Up until this point she had merely smirked when he caught her stare, not once looking away or denying that she had been examining him.

The bus came to a wheezing stop at the corner and she stood up, swinging her bag over her shoulder. Oikawa got off at the same stop, and he hurried into step right behind her. It wasn't until they were off the bus and walking up the road that she spoke to him for the first time.

"Afraid you'll get lost?"

"Huh?" It came out more confused and condescending than he had intended but she simply looked over her shoulder at him. She was about half a head shorter than him, with light brown hair framing her face and shoulders, deadly curves, and an expression that could eat him alive. Her lips, slightly chapped from the cold front that was approaching, formed a slight smirk and she pushed out a chuckle. Her eyes, glistening from the knowing gleam or maybe the wind blowing and causing them to water, rolled before fixing on Oikawa again.

"You're walking awfully close to me." It was hardly said aloud, not more than slightly above a whisper, which made Oikawa all too aware of how close he had actually been. He fell about three steps back.

"Just, making sure you're safe." He pulled out a suave smile meant to make her blush and turn away, melting her heart and turning her into putty in his hand. Mia simply snickered.

"I've kind of been doing this a lot longer than you have." She pushed her hair off of her shoulder and fixed him with an unimpressed look. "Besides, I'm already home anyway." She curved into the driveway and Oikawa continued on, about four steps, to the driveway next door. There was a white fence, barely concealing half of his torso and a few leafless flowering bushes on the other side. He watched Mia walk up the drive before turning back to look at him. Oikawa worked himself up with the hope that she would say something to him that he could classify as a victory. Instead she simply scrunched up her face and muttered, "How do you say your name again?"

"Uh... Oikawa?" He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeming upset. Disinterested was the alternative default. It earned him another eye roll and she walked closer to the fence, practically pulling him deeper with the way she spoke.

"Your first name, dummy."

"Tooru" He looked at her warily, unsure what the next step would be. She smiled and took a step back, looking at him.

"Tooru," his name rolled off of her tongue. "Do you want to know a secret, Tooru?" She made it sound almost sweet, but he just narrowed his eyes watching her. "I like you. At least, I think I will, once we get to know each other."

"That's nice to know." He responded, still playing default disinterest.

"Another secret?" She smiled the slightest bit and bit her bottom lip to hold in a laugh. "I know what your name is, I just like to hear you say it." She stepped away from the fence, still watching him. "You should come over some time, maybe we can have a real discussion instead of you stepping on my heels and hoping I notice you." Turning to her house it only took a turn of the knob and a swift push of the shoulder to unstick the side door and close her inside the house. Someone was home for her, unlike Oikawa's host family who wouldn't be home until later.

He pulled the spare key out of his pocket and let himself inside, closing the door before dropping his bag. He wasn't tempted by her offer, she was playing a dirty game and Oikawa wanted no part of it.

She had said she liked him. That had to count for something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again!!  
> Even more exposition, I know, but believe me it's necessary.  
> I hope you continue reading and following the story.  
> More to come!


	3. For Your Eyes?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If it were up to Oikawa, she would stay out of his life for good.  
> Could she be any more... BOLD??  
> Additionally, Iwaizumi is a good friend, but not supportive of Oikawa's... Pursuits.

For all the control that he had, Oikawa was simply unable to let it go. It was the same routine every day and it was beginning to take a toll on him. He would see her in the morning, see her at school, after school, in the evenings, and even when he was trying to go to bed. 

All it took was a glance outside the bedroom window and Mia was there watching him from her own room. Her family's kitchen window was in the exact spot to peer over the fence and spy on him at the house. No matter how hard he tried, Oikawa couldn't avoid her and it was wearing his patience thin. Mia was driving him crazy, and Oikawa had tried to handle it himself but was failing miserably. Fortunately he had a connection to home and a friend who could hear out all of his concerns.  


At this particular moment, Oikawa was in a state of panic as he glanced out the window for the ninth time to find the Mia was still there, watching him. It was one of the weird quirks that she had, or had developed specifically to fuck with him. Mia would watch him as she ate food, her eyes boring into him as if sending the message that he was a treat for her to devour. At this particular moment, her choice of food was particularly concerning and Oikawa had needed to call in reinforcements.

"No, Iwaizumi you don't understand!" He whined. "She KNOWS I can see her, she's doing it on purpose, and the way she is eating that Popsicle is absolutely obscene!!"

"Listen shitty-kawa, just because you're a peeping tom who gets hot and bothered watching a girl eat ice cream doesn't mean it has to be my problem." 

"Iwa-chan," Oikawa whined again. "I'm not doing anything, she's terrorizing me! Since I got here she has been nothing but sultry smiles and eyes that are eating me up!, and it's making me uncomfortable!"

"Maybe if you weren't getting so fucking hard you wouldn't be so uncomfortable." Iwaizumi grumbled. "You've been flirting with her, haven't you? That's why she's bothering you so much, you like her." Oikawa could not believe what he was hearing.

"Tch, absolutely not." He grumbled. "Just because she has pretty brown-green eyes to use as weapons, and a smirk that drives me crazy, not to mention the way that she blinks slowly at me when she's listening really hard to what I'm saying." He straightened up and after catching a glimpse of Mia, still working her Popsicle in the window, he pulled the curtain halfway across the window and turned back to his friend. "This is serious, she's doing nothing but dragging me around in circles chasing after her."

"It still sounds like you like her."

"I don't!" Oikawa exclaimed. "I want her to stop, she makes me feel things that I don't like. I don't like Mia, she's been tormenting me for almost a month now. If she hadn't been so annoying I might have liked her, she's not altogether unattractive." Oikawa was more frustrated than anything, and not having a productive way to work out his frustrations was wearing on him and making him more irritable.

"This sounds like it has less to do with you needing help from me, and more to do with you taking care of your own 'little situation'."

"Iwa-chan that is so mean!" Oikawa had wrapped back around to whining. "I do not have a 'little' situation, it's a big situation and I need your help. What do I do?"

"I don't know, try to get close to her? Maybe you'll figure out how to deal with it once you know a little more about her."

"Yeah," It was as if realization suddenly struck him, and Oikawa was all too happy at the implication. "I'll spy on her and collect dirt to figure out what she's really up to."

"Whatever, I give up." Iwaizumi was sick of hearing about this girl he was convinced Oikawa had the hots for, and anything that got him to stop talking about it for a while was good enough for Iwa-chan.

"Hey, not sure what you guys are talking about, it's not in English, but dinner is gonna happen soon so you might wanna wrap it up." Cael stood in the door. "Is that the same friend from Japan?"

"Yes." Tooru responded, watching as Cael stepped into frame and waved quickly at Iwazumi. 

"Hey, Mia is right in her window." Cael pulled back the curtain to wave at Mia, who was eating her Popsicle normally and waved back. Oikawa saw her and felt slightly more disgusted than he had before. "Hey, do you ever talk to your friend about her?"

"She, uh... May have come up once or twice."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank You for reading!  
> I hope you continue to enjoy!  
> More to come.


	4. Trouble in the Cozy Corner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa Tooru was not as good at spying as he thought he was.  
> In his effort to dig up dirt against Mia he accidentally gives her more ammunition to use against him. He gets so close in his endeavor to expose Mia, that he might be exposing too much of himself.  
> To everyone on the outside looking in, Tooru and Mia were growing closer together, but what do they really know about each other than the game they dance around?  
> And how much longer can Oikawa hold out, without volleyball to ground his senses?

It would have been one thing if the populace was in agreement that Mia was a nuisance, but whoever he asked had just the opposite to tell.

"Mia? She's really cool, we basically grew up together. You should hang out with her, she's totally nice enough to help you out with whatever!" Cael spoke highly about her.

"She's a exemplary student and by all accounts a wonderful person." The American Lit teacher explained. "If you need tutoring I would highly recommend her, she's very kind."

"Mia is so funny!" Some girls in his posse gushed. "Whenever we talk, it's like we've been friends forever."

"She's a very sweet girl, Tooru. You wouldn't be developing a crush on her, would you? You should ask her on a date I'm sure she'd say yes!" His host mother beamed.

No matter who he asked or how many times he pushed for more dirt, everyone had such nice and positive things to say about her. She was on the debate team, the nature trail, had been considered as a class officer, and spent her free time at a passive ballroom dance class in the community. Mia the neighbor girl was the picture of innocence.

But the way she looked at him made Oikawa feel things.

It was uncomfortable, but only because he had never experienced this effect in himself. She was interesting, but all he wanted was to get to the bottom of what she was doing and get her to stop looking at him like that.

So in an effort to try and gather information and break Mia's spell to put her under his own, Oikawa began to look for every reason to spend time with her that he could.

It started in Am. Lit., the teacher said to pair up to discuss and he walked right past the girls clamoring for his attention to squeeze next to Mia. It was a failure for him, but a success at her getting further under his skin.

Then he sat in the seat behind her on the bus, attempting to initiate conversation. She didn't say much, and when she did it was only a simple response to something Oikawa had said, coupled with an amused smile and a knowing look.

He even went so far as suggesting she come over for dinner, thinking she couldn't treat him that way if she had to keep up her perfect image. It was only more infuriating when she watched him predatorily across the table while smiling at his host family and asking to pass the potatoes.

Finally, after just about going crazy from lack of activity and attempts to unwind the web Mia had woven around him, Oikawa stood outside of the community center listening to the warm up music inside. It was mostly adult couples trying to relight the flame, or elderly people trying to have some fun, but there was a small percentage of teenagers whose parents had signed them up to their dismay. Oikawa stepped in and the dance instructors eyes instantly flew to him and burned with curiosity. Mia also turned around, and Oikawa was almost mad at her for her cute little tuft of a ponytail and how she looked at him in amusement.

"I don't believe I recognize you." The instructor said, pulling her glasses onto her face. She was in her mid forties and studied him carefully. Oikawa was just about to explain that he was only here to confront Mia, but she beat him to an explanation.

"I'm sorry, I thought I told you I invited him." Mia apologized looking all kinds of sympathetic. "This is my exchange student neighbor, the one I told you all about." This explanation sent more of the room into excitable mutters, and Mia smiled before adding in a hushed tone, "I told you he was handsome." It might just have been Oikawa seeing red, but he thought for a moment that her face briefly dusted pink. He didn't have time to dwell on it, the instructor was walking toward him and squawking about how he was just what the class needed.

"Some fresh young and exotic blood! Maybe now this class will jolt to life!" Her heavy jewelry swung around and clanked as she excitingly gestured wildly.

"Whoa, Cathy," Mia put up her hands and stepped between him and the crazy woman. "He's from Japan, not a tropical island. If you keep talking like that, he might not come back." This seemed to cause the woman to withdraw a bit, and finally Oikawa found the words to speak. He tried to play up the bashful aspect, to win some people over to his side and hopefully frustrate Mia into giving him a win this round.

"I don't dance. I play volleyball." 

"That's fine, honey! You'll learn everything you need to know here." The instructor smiled and clapped her hands rushing to the front of the room again. "Okay! I hope you are all pleasantly warmed up because we are ready to roll!" The class stepped back into line. "Oh! Mia darling take your boy to the back and show him the basics, would you?"

"Love to!" Mia called back, smiling genuinely. She took Oikawa by the arm and started walking, but he carefully pulled away from her and walked on his own. Once they were in the back and the music started up, Mia extended her hands.

"I need to talk to you." His face lost the illusion of friendliness.

"Take my hands first, you'll draw more attention if you don't at least look like your trying." With a huff Oikawa took her hands and watched her as she attempted to lead him. He only half payed attention to her leading him, the other half was occupied with practically seething.

"Why did you lie for me? We aren't friends, we don't even like each other."

"We don't? I like you, I told you that, and you could have fooled me with how cozy you've been lately."

"I wasn't being nice to you because I like you, I was doing it to get close to you!"

"Sounds like you like me."

"Not like that!" Oikawa hissed. "I'm trying to figure you out."

"What's to figure out? I'd tell you anything if you asked, but you haven't asked."

"You're toying with me. I don't like it."

"Well that's funny." Mia responded, a slight curve on her lips. "It doesn't seem to be a problem when you do it."

"What!? I don't toy with you." He fell out of step slightly, pulling a little farther than an arms length away. Mia pulled him back by the hands and lead him back into step, mild annoyance on her features. She frowned and looked at him sharply with those hazel eyes of hers, before responding.

"You've got everyone believing you're some cute Japanese boy who doesn't get how things work, but I see right through you Tooru." Mia looked at him with the most unreadable mien he'd ever seen.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know that you've had an honest moment with anybody since you got here." She looked serious, tightening her grip on his hands and pushing him to step farther back. "From the moment I met you all I saw was that you were incredibly dishonest." She pulled him back toward her into a closer position with his hand on her waist hand her fingers on his shoulder. "You're a liar, and I don't like that." A shocked gasp was pulled from Oikawa. He dropped both hands and took a quick step back from her, watching the way her angry eyes continued to watch him.

"What?" He breathed. 

"You're fake Tooru. You're fake, and insincere, and you don't even care. So I'm trying to figure out where you get off using people." She took a step closer. "You've got just about everyone wrapped around your finger, but that's not enough for you is it? You want to drag me into your depraved little group too, because nobody can see through you, it ruins your image. But, when you can't get that from me, when I start pushing back, you get upset. I want you to see what you look like to everyone else." Mia pulled him closer by the wrist and looked at him with pity and a hint of disgust. "It's called a taste of your own sick medicine, Tooru. Guess it tastes pretty bad."

He was so shocked and angry about what she had said, that he set his jaw and peeled her hands off of him, tossing them down like garbage he was pitching.

"I shouldn't have come." He said so quietly it was almost scary.

"To where? To the studio or to America?" She spat back.

"Both." Oikawa responded, turning away and walking out of the doors. Mia watched him go and turned to walk back to the class. She wound up giving them some bullshit excuse about him being sensitive and only getting upset because he wasn't as good as he had expected to be. After calming their concerns, the instructor made her promise that she would talk to him and attempt to clear up any problems and encourage him to come back. Mia struggled internally with the thought that maybe she had been too harsh, and thought back to the way he looked at her before leaving. She couldn't believe, after all that, after being convinced the whole thing was just for shits and giggles, that she thought she actually saw a hint of pain in his expression before he stormed off.

She would have to do some serious damage control, and there was no way to dance around this issue. Mia had her work cut out for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> I hope you enjoy.  
> More to come.


End file.
